Medeski Martin and Wood
February 27th, 2008
Stumbling into a performance by John Medeski isn’t all that difficult in New York City — I’ve recently seen him with The Word, Warren Haynes, and John Scofield, (and he’s all over the I’m Not There soundtrack) — but his original groove jazz combo has proven much more elusive lately.
So on Saturday, Dan, Jocelyn, and I took the quick roadtrip up to the Fairfield Arts Center in Bridgeport, CT for a healthy dose of MMW. I expected Bubblehouse and other well-worn MMW tunes, but this year, the trio is up to new tricks. They got together to write new songs before the tour, they’re expanding them during the shows, and they’ll then return to the studio to record an album. They plan on repeating this process in the summer and fall for three new Medeski Martin and Wood albums this year.
The new material was mesmerizing. Fresh, unheard-of grooves, mercurially shifting between jazzy, spacey, freaky, and funky, sometimes ripping in that balls-to-the-wall MMW style, sometimes cute, like when Medeski played the B3 with his melodica. When one of the befuddled ushers tried to make me move in the middle of an extended improvisation, I was so absorbed I could barely defend my seat. I’m looking forward to the album evolving out of this and just might have to get their kids’ CD Let’s Go Everywhere for my niece.
Here’s a video of “Think”:
Grace Potter, Southpaw
April 21st, 2007
Photo: VickieVictoria
To quote some enthused drunkard from late last night, Grace Potter fucking brings it. We saw her twice yesterday, first in front of Grand Central, and later at Brooklyn’s Southpaw. As enjoyable as the afternoon set was, the bottom of a skyscraper canyon isn’t quite right for the 23-year-old Vermont singer–the guy in the suit next to me used the beautiful gospel-inflected a capella tune “Nothing but the Water” to bitch about his doorman. Southpaw, grungy but spacious, was much better suited to Grace Potter and the Nocturnals’ brand of nasty blues rock. I won’t belabor the obvious–just listen for yourself: Grace Potter oozes talent, and she deserves to be huge. The Wood Brothers opened.
- Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Official Site
- Grace Potter Biography
- Grace Potter on MySpace
- Stream a show from NPR
- 2005 Boston Globe article
- Grace Potter on Wikipedia
- Download Grace Potter shows from Internet Archive
- Previously on muckworld: “Treat Me Right”
Here’s “Mystery Train”:
Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood @ Bowery Ballroom
November 28th, 2006
Heady, like getting your frontal lobes kneaded by a slightly sadistic masseuse, but with a booty-shaking happy ending.
- Comments/partial setlist on the MMW forums
- Pretty good photos I’m not allowed to blog
- Out Louder
- MMW
Two tunes for your enjoyment: a very pretty “Julia” …
[audio:MSMW - Julia.mp3]
…and, more representative, the set-closing “Hottentot” from the Electric Factory in Philly the week previous:
[audio:MSMW - Hottentot.mp3]
[tags]music, john medeski, billy martin, chris wood, john scofield, jazz, funk, nyc, bowery ballroom, shows, audio[/tags]
